Materials Research.

Surface Contact Fatigue Failure of a Case Hardened Pinion Shaft

Luciana Sgarbi Rossinoa,b, Danilo Borges Villarino de Castroc, Jeferson Aparecido Moretod,
Cassius Olivio Figueiredo Terra Rucherte, Dirceu Spinellie, Jos Ricardo Tarpanie*
Sorocaba Technological College FATEC, Av. Engenheiro Carlos Reinaldo Mendes, 2015,
Alto da Boa Vista, CEP 18013-280, Sorocaba, SP, Brazil
b
Federal University of So CarlosUFSCar, Rodovia Joo Leme dos Santos, Km 110,
Bairro do Itinga, CEP 18052-780, Sorocaba, SP, Brazil
c
Institute of Science and TechnologyICET, Universidade PaulistaUNIP,
Av. Alberto Benassi, 200, Parque das Laranjeiras, CEP 14804-300, Araraquara, SP, Brazil
d
Department of Chemistry, Federal Institute Goiano, Rodovia BR-153,
Km 633, CEP 75650-000, Morrinhos, GO, Brazil
e
Department of Materials Engineering SMM, Engineering School of So Carlos EESC,
University of So Paulo USP, Avenida Trabalhador Sancarlense, 400,
Parque Arnold Schimidt, CEP 13566-590, So Carlos, SP, Brazil

Received: January 24, 2012; Revised: April 8, 2014

An investigation was made to determine the causes of surface contact fatigue failure of a case
hardened driver pinion located in the intermediate shaft of a reducer gearbox used in a sugar and alcohol
mill. The examination of the component revealed the presence of a cemented layer substantially thicker
than that generally specified for pinions devised for this application. This, associated with the massive
presence of brittle threadlike carbon-rich cementite phase (Fe3C) in prior austenite grain boundaries
of the pinion teeth, favored surface crack nucleation and propagation during cyclic loading, leading
to spallation of the contact surface with the counterpart gear, which impaired the systems operation.
Poor carburization practice was discovered as the root cause of the mechanical failure, thus demanding
the implementation of a new manufacturing route to avoid problems in similar load-bearing rotating
components.
Keywords: failure analysis, case hardened pinion, low-alloy steel, rotating component, surface
contact fatigue

1. Introduction
Gears are mechanical elements connected to rotating
shafts whose contact surfaces must be carefully shaped to
a specific profile to transmit uniform and continuous rotary
motion. If the smaller wheel of the contacting pair, called
the pinion shaft, is in the engine, the gear train will reduce
the speed, thereby increasing the systems torque. On the
other hand, if the main gear, which is the larger wheel of
the contacting pair, is in the engine, the gear train will
speed up the gearbox system and automatically decrease its
torque. Shafts are used virtually in all machines that transmit
rotational motion from one part to another, such as gears,
pinions, roller bearings, and pulleys1,2.
The main causes of in-service failure of case hardened
gears are well established in the pertinent literature3-11 and
sometimes involve multiple and synergic mechanisms. For
instance, Dasetal.3 observed that the rotating part of a diesel
electric-power generator fractured by fatigue crack growth
initiated at the fillet of the pinion teeth. These researchers
concluded that a decrease in the contact area specified in the
design of the failed teeth caused misalignment between the
gear pinion and the ring gear, which subjected the system
to severe wear in the region of highest stress contact, thus
*e-mail: jrpan@sc.usp.br

denoting a contact fatigue process. However, cyclic bending

stresses above the materials fatigue limit, inadequate
finishing of gear and pinion teeth and the presence of
elongated sulfide inclusions in the microstructures of the
two components contributed to progressive degradation of
the mechanical system.
Strictly speaking, the above described surface contact
fatigue process is defined as the evolution of damage that
occurs when two specific moving surfaces touch each other
repeatedly, allied to other processes such as corrosion, pit
formation, wear debris and fatigue cracks. The damage
process may reduce the components load-bearing capacity
or even result in complete failure of the components in
contact with each other, make them functionless7,8.
It is well known that exceptionally high cyclic contact
pressure loads develop in real contacting rotating bodies
(e.g., wheel-pinion pairs) and that the relative motion
between them causes simultaneous rolling and sliding.
This combined mechanical loading of the parts defines, to a
great extent, the probability that surface contact fatigue will
develop, which is why this phenomenon is commonly called
rolling-sliding contact fatigue (RSCF). One or both of the
bodies in contact also often undergoes fluctuating stresses
resulting from vibrations or other forms of loading, which

Rossinoetal.

may lead to the propagation of cracks nucleated by surface

contact fatigue, thus accelerating the fracture process of the
materials involved4.
RSCF was described by Basanetal.9, whose information
can be used for the prevention or subsequent identification
and remedial actions against fatigue damage in power
transmission gears. RSCF in gear/pinion tooth surfaces are
generally due to the differences in tooth geometry, meshing
conditions, material characteristics and type and parameters
of surface carburization and hardening heat treatments.
The different types of damage attributed to RSCF of
gear tooth flanks are: pitting (initial pitting, progressive
pitting, micropitting and flake pitting), spalling and case
crushing. The resulting damage is one of the most frequent
causes of gear failure, and is directly related to the shear
fatigue strength profiles of case hardened materials and
the distribution of shear stresses caused by rolling-sliding
contact loading9. Locations at which shear stresses exceed
shear fatigue strength are the most likely sites for damage
initiation. When a material is subjected to shear stress
that is lower than its shear fatigue strength, no damage
occurs. If it is subjected to shear stress exceeding its shear
fatigue strength at the surface, the resulting damage is
pitting. However, if the material is subjected to shear stress
exceeding its shear fatigue strength immediately below
surface, the resulting damage is flake pitting and/or spalling.
Lastly, if the material is subjected to shear stress exceeding
its shear fatigue strength in deep subsurface layers, it
undergoes case crushing10,11.
According to Basanetal.9, one of the important
features of gear/pinion tooth flanks surface treatments (case
hardening) is the change in hardness from the surface to the
core of the material. This behavior causes the materials
fatigue strength to change in response to variations in surface
hardness. Thus, the critical to fail position of gear/pinion
tooth depends not only on the magnitude and distribution of
stresses, but also on the distribution of hardness or fatigue
strength, which is achieved by means of surface thermal
and/or thermo-chemical treatments. An unfavorable stressstrain ratio, which is very often found in the transition area
between a harder surface layer and a softer core, can result
in localized plastic deformation of the material. Occasional
overloading, which is inevitable during operation of the
rotating machinery, can intensify this damage phenomenon,
initiating subsurface cracks that can propagate below the
surface, resulting in the separation and breaking off of large
pieces of gear/pinion tooth flank material, and in some
cases, even of large sections of the tooth. The main factors
that contribute significantly to the development of this
process are unsuitable depth of the hardened surface layer
(either thinner or thicker than specified in the project stage),
incorrect hardness profile in the hardened case and along the
tooth height, insufficient core hardness (all of them resulting
essentially from defective thermal and/or thermo-chemical
treatments), occasional overloading during operation,
errors in mesh due to manufacturing and assembly faults,
and particularly the occurrence of cyclic stress that induces
fatigue crack growth in the material. Thus, numerous factors
can cause, acting individually or cooperatively, gear/pinion
tooth to become damaged by rolling-sliding contact fatigue.

Materials Research

The challenge here is, therefore, to disclose the root

cause(s) which led to the case hardened pinion failure
during apparently normal in-service conditions of the
studied gearbox.

2. Material and Components

The pinion analyzed in this study was manufactured with
DIN 17CrNiMo6 steel (similar to SAE 862012), cemented/
carburized in a carbon rich atmosphere to reach the required
2.6 mm deep carbon rich surface layer, according to the DIN
50190 standard13, and subsequently quenched (hardened)
and tempered (Q&T) to obtain a structural piece exhibiting
a hard and wear resistant surface layer allied to a very tough
core to withstand repeated impact loads. According to the
pinion design specification, macrohardness of the tooth flank
must be 60-61 HRC, and 35-43 HRC at its core.
Cr-Ni-Mo steels are currently used for parts requiring
high resilience, toughness and fatigue crack growth
resistance, as well as resistance to wear and fatigue crack
initiation due to the high surface hardness imparted by
surface heat treatments such as cementing, nitriding
and carbonitriding1,2,9. A nickel content of 1.5 to 4.5%
wt increases the yield strength, resilience and fracture
toughness (which invariably includes fatigue crack growth
and impact resistances) of structural steels. Chromium
enhances the wear resistance of steels due to the formation
of chromium carbide, while molybdenum protects against
the weakening of tempering and promotes the uniformity
of steels processed for large thicknesses9.
Figure1 shows a schematic of the intermediate gear set
evaluated in this case study.

2.1. Description of the failure

Figure2 shows a pinion tooth subjected to failure
analysis due to the extensive deterioration it suffered during
in-service conditions. The types of damage typically found
in the contact line of assessed teeth were classified as scaling
and pitting, which undoubtedly resulted from fragmentation
of the case hardened layer.
However, the progressive enlargement of scales and pits
can lead to a type of damage known as cyclone, which is
illustrated in Figure2.

2.2. Procedures
To discover the root causes of the intermediate pinion
shaft failure, the following experimental procedures were
carried out in chronological sequence.
Chemical analysis of the base material by spark source
optical emission spectrometry at ambient temperature
and 43% relative humidity (average of two samples).
Full documentation of the characteristics of the pinion
tooth damage through digital images recorded in
macro-mode.
Visual inspection of damage using a binocular
stereomicroscope.
Tensile tests of round cross section specimens
according to the DIN 50125 standard14 in ambient
conditions (average of three specimens).
Charpy impact tests of type-A test coupons in ambient

Surface Contact Fatigue Failure of a Case Hardened Pinion Shaft

Figure1. Draft of the intermediate reducer shaft, where the fractured pinion shaft is indicated by an arrow. The location of the corresponding
idler (intermediate) gear is also arrowed.
Table1. Chemical composition (wt %) of the pinion tooth base
material investigated here. Average of two evaluated samples.

Figure2. Representative case of a badly damaged pinion tooth

surface.

conditions, according to the DIN EN10045 standard15

(average of three specimens).
Rockwell macrohardness measurements (HRC 150kgf) of the tooth core, according to the ASTM
E-18 standard16.
Vickers microhardness profiles (HV - 200 gf) along
the case-hardened layer of pinion teeth, according to
ASTM E-38417, adjacent to and far from cyclone-type
damage (see Figure2).
Microstructural analysis of cross-section
metallographic planes in the vicinity of substantial
mechanical damage in the pinion tooth, with and
without chemical etching.
High magnification density contrast imaging of the
cemented, hardened and tempered microstructure
by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) in
backscattered electron mode, along with Energy
Dispersive X-Ray (EDS) microchemical analysis.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Chemical analysis
Table1 describes the average chemical composition
(wt%) of the pinion core material, which is totally consistent
with the SAE 8620 specification12

Chemical
element

Weight %

SAE 8620 specification

C
Si
Mn
P
S
Cr
Ni
Mo

0.20
0.23
0.60
0.012
0.016
1.54
1.46
0.28

0.15-0.20
0.40
0.40-0.60
0.035 (Max.)
0.035 (Max.)
1.50-1.80
1.40-1.70
0.25-0.35

3.2. Macroscopic inspection

Figure3 depicts the contact line of the counterpart gear
tooth, clearly showing the presence of pits. This is normally
the first stage of RSCF under relatively low applied stresses,
and is corroborated here by the absence of noticeable plastic
deformation of the inspected surface. In fact, in this position
(contact or pitch line) the maximum bearing (compression)
stresses develop between the pinion and its counterpart gear
surfaces. On the other hand, the peak location of subsurface
stress resulting from the sum of rolling and sliding stresses
occurs elsewhere below the surface.
Figures4a and 4b show the so-called cyclone pattern
shown in Figure2, developed under surface contact fatigue
in the pinion pitch line, which is created by continuous and
extensive fragmentation of the case hardened layer of the
pinion tooth in the rolling direction.

3.3. Tensile and impact tests

Table2 describes the tensile properties of yield stress
(ys), ultimate tensile strength (uts), elongation (EF) and
reduction of area (AF) at fracture, as well as the Charpy
impact absorbed energy (CIAE) of the pinion tooth core
material.

Rossinoetal.

The results listed in Table2 qualify the SAE 8620 type

steel employed for the application in question. Indeed,
as mentioned earlier, damage was detected only on the
cemented and subsequently heat-treated hard surface layer
of the pinion shaft.

3.4. Macro- and microhardness

Rockwell macrohardness measurements of the pinion
tooth core indicated values ranging from 34.0 to 42.7 HRC,
which are very close to the 35.0-43.0 HRC specified in the
design stage.
Microhardness values are plotted in Figure5, where the
data points indicate a hardened case depth of 3.2 to 3.5mm,
assuming that the nominal thickness of the cemented layer
corresponds to the position where a value of 550 HV0.2
is reached from the top layer surface after the Q&T heat
treatment, according to the DIN 50190 standard. Compared
to the typical target value of 2.6 mm specified for this pinion
shaft size, it can be concluded that the thickness of the
hardened case exceeded 0.6-1.1 mm.

Figure3. Detailed view of the contact line and neighboring regions

of counterpart bigger gear viewed with a binocular stereoscope
(microscopic pitting).

Materials Research

This is a significant point in this case study, because

the pertinent literature often mentions that to avoid the
coincidence between maximum localized subsurface
Hertzian (shear) stress and the critical transition region
between the cemented layer and pinion core, designers often
resort to over thick carburized layers.
As it will be seen later, this stratagem appears to be
effective in avoiding subsurface crack initiation due to
contact fatigue, although it will inevitably go hand in hand
with some drawbacks such as cemented layers with very
brittle microstructures.
According to the plotted HV0.2 microhardness data in
Figure5, no evidence of surface decarburization of the
cemented pinion during consecutive Q&T heat treatment
can be detected.

3.5. Optical analysis of the microstructure

Figure6 shows the typical microstructure of a pinion
tooth core after Q&T heat treatment, which appears to be
homogeneous and to consist mainly of tempered martensite,
a highly desirable microconstituent for the mechanical
application of the alloy steel in question.
Figure7 displays various pit morphologies developed
on the pitch line surface of a case hardened pinion tooth.
Note that fatigue cracks grow and branch out from the pit
tips, although cracking remains restricted to the cemented
layer due two main factors: (i) cracks face a much tougher
microstructure in the pinion core, and (ii) driving force for
crack growth due to the sum of rolling and sliding (shear)
stresses decays rapidly towards the tooth core from the peak
value attained elsewhere below the rotating component
surface. This is especially true when a thicker than normal
cemented layer is identified and measured, according to
plotted data points in Figure5. It can be assumed that the
state of deterioration of the pinion surface when the Figure7
image was captured is compatible with the degradation
stage documented in Figure3 for the tooth belonging to

Figure4. Surface contact fatigue damage of the cemented and subsequently Q&T SAE 8620 steel pinion tooth flank: (a) Typical cyclone
morphology, with the likely initiation site indicated by an arrow; (b) Detailed view of the formed cavity (classified as severe spalling)
seen under a binocular stereoscope.
Table2. Quasi-static monotonic tensile and Charpy impact properties of the pinion core material. Average of three test specimens for
each type of mechanical test, and corresponding standard-deviations.
Material/Property

ys (MPa)

uts (MPa)

EF (%)

AF (%)

CIAE (J)

Pinion tooth

693.1 31.8

983.3 39.9

20.4 0.9

58.5 2.4

35.21.5

Surface Contact Fatigue Failure of a Case Hardened Pinion Shaft

the counterpart bulkier gear (keeping in mind that the view

planes of Figures3 and 7 are orthogonal each other).
Figure8 shows several subsurface cracks emerging from
the pinion tooth surface, causing the release of fragments of
the hardened case thus favoring the generation of cyclone
type damage, as already depicted in both the Figures2 and 4.
Furthermore, it can be inferred that the fragments
detached from the wear surface are the net result of

Figure5. HV0.2 microhardness profiles of the case hardened layer

in the wake of two distinct linear paths of a pinion shaft tooth flank
containing a cyclone type defect.

compressive loads, which give rise to combined rolling

and sliding loading modes between the parts in contact
with each other. This induces an ever-increasing wear rate
of their materials, which in turn impairs the performance of
entire mechanical system5-8. It is worth noting that the pinion
(smaller gear) invariably degrades at a faster rate than the
corresponding gear (larger gear) because it naturally rotates
at higher angular velocities (rotations per unit time) than the
latter component.
Since the above described analysis was unable to provide
information to fully identify the root causes of the failure,
indicating only the mechanisms whereby pits, scales, cracks
and the cyclone-like damage were generated, a thorough
micrographic inspection was conducted along the edge of
the pinion tooth. However, at this time no surface chemical
etching was employed to observe the sample.
The micrograph in Figure9 shows the examined tooth
root where grain boundaries are quite visible due the
presence of brittle films of metal oxides and/or Fe3C. These
constituents are potential sites for crack nucleation and offer
preferential pathways for crack propagation.
Cracks tend to form a common plan of progression,
naturally following the path of least resistance, such as the
intergranular fracture weakened by the presence of carbides
and/or oxides at grain boundaries. As mentioned earlier,

Figure6. Typical microstructure of the pinion tooth core. Etched

with Nital 2%.

Figure8. Emerging cracks in a slightly worn portion of the contact

surface in the case hardened pinion tooth. Etched with Nital 2%.

Figure7. Cross-section view of a pinion tooth showing several pits

(indicated by arrows) from which fatigue cracks branch out towards
the bulk microstructure during periodic contact with the counterpart
gear tooth surface. Etched with Nital 2%.

Figure9. Evidence of secondary phase(s) in prior austenite grain

boundaries (i.e., martensite packet bounds) at the root region of
a cemented pinion tooth, without chemical etching. An identical
pattern was sometimes observed at the flank of other pinion teeth.

Rossinoetal.

grains or grain agglomerates are pulled out from the surface,

generating pits and wear debris. Once pits have been formed,
the pitting mechanism follows a geometric discontinuity
that concentrates stresses, at which point nucleation and
subsequent crack propagation phenomena are absolutely
viable and occur readily, leading to increasingly expanding
and geometrically complex damage. Furthermore, it is very
important to emphasize the deleterious effect of oxides and
carbides already in the stage of crack nucleation, since they
are known to be brittle phases that can induce severe stress
concentration.
Figure10 shows the role of the microstructure of the
cemented steel layer, in terms of how the nature, content
and spatial distribution of inclusions affect the removal rate
of material from the pitch line in the pinion tooth. The left
hand arrow shows a hard particle in the cemented layer, thus

Materials Research

elucidating its role as stress concentrator favoring matrix

cracking. The right hand arrow points out the detachment of
a relatively massive case hardened fragment, hence leading
to pitting (mass loss) and raising surface roughness of the
rotating component.

3.6. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)

analysis
To complete the identification of microconstituents at
grain boundaries in the tempered martensitic microstructure
at the flanks of the failed pinion tooth, a SEM analysis in
backscattered electron (BSE) mode was first performed of
this particular region. Figure11a confirms the presence
of a secondary phase in-between neighboring martensitic
packets (i.e., prior austenitic grains). SEM-BSE allows
phases differentiation on the basis of their distinct densities,
where lighter colors refer to higher densities and vice-versa.
As can be seen, the density of the vermicular phase
located inside the packet or grain boundary network is much
lower than that of the metallic matrix (SAE 8620 steel),
thus reinforcing the hypothesis of a massive presence of
cementite in that region. Figure11b proves the existence of a
continuous brittle film along the boundaries of the martensite
(prior austenite) on the surface of the pinions cemented
layer. Energy dispersive X-ray microchemical analysis of
intergranular and intermetalic phases seen in Figure11
attested them as Fe3C and CrNiMo microconstituents,
respectively.

4. Conclusions

Figure10. Brittle particles at the surface of the cemented layer

(indicated by arrows), which are about to be dislodged, resulting
in pits and contact surface unevenness. No etching.

A visual inspection of the damage suffered by the case

hardened pinion tooth made of SAE 8620 type steel showed
that the failures originated from surface contact fatigue,
more specifically through pitting mechanism.
Chemical composition, as well as mechanical properties
of the pinion core met all the design specifications, and

Figure11. (a) Vermicular morphology of cementite phase at grain boundaries. The intermetallic particles indicated by arrows are much
denser than those of an average steel matrix; (b) Detailed view of the continuous cementite film located at the grain boundaries. Etched
with Nital 2%.

Surface Contact Fatigue Failure of a Case Hardened Pinion Shaft

microhardness measurements indicated that, based on the

attained values of surface contact stresses, the goals of pinion
cementation were met.
However, the cemented layer in question was found
to be thicker than that specified during the pinion design,
indicating excess concentration of carbon in the available
contacting surface of the pinion tooth. Optical and electronic
scanning microscopies allied with the microhardness
measurement of the cemented layer microstructure revealed
an enhanced cracking process in the pitch line and the
massive presence of a secondary filiform phase in the
prior austenite grain boundaries (i.e., martensite packet
bounds) at the root and top regions of the pinion tooth. EDX
microprobe analysis identified the intergranular phase as
basically composed by Fe3C, a powerful microstructural
stress concentrator when present in this form, causing
embrittlement of the grain boundaries. Therefore, an
over thick cemented layer in conjunction with threadlike
intergranular Fe3C facilitated surface crack nucleation and

propagation due to repeated compressive contact loads (i.e.,

RSCF mechanism), giving rise to pit formation in the wear
area of the pinion teeth.
The progression of this mechanism in the contact line
between the case hardened pinion and its larger counterpart
gear caused the former component to fail by cyclone-like
damage.
The surface contact fatigue process was therefore the
failure mechanism of the part, notwithstanding the root cause
of pinion failure was its misguided cementation process.
Accordingly, a more detailed study should be conducted
to improve the efficiency of this secondary manufacturing
practice in terms of batch time, temperature and carbon
content, to avoid problems in similar structural metallic
components.

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Acknowledgements
To the Federal University of So CarlosSorocaba City
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